1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machining tool having a function of monitoring and controlling an atmosphere inside a machining tool control panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A machining tool includes many electronic devices such as a numerical controller and a servo amplifier. However, there are many external failure factors that cause the failure of the electronic devices. Here, oil, oil mist, dust, a chemical liquid, water, and steam are produced as the external failure factors due to a cutting operation or a grinding operation, and exist in the atmosphere around the machining tool. In order to protect the electronic devices from the external failure factors, the electronic devices are received in a locker called a control panel in a general machining tool.
In order to attain the object of protecting the electronic devices from the external failure factors, the control panel needs to be a sealing structure capable of shielding the atmosphere outside the control panel. However, the structure with a high sealing property degrades the maintainability or the workability inside the control panel or degrades the heat radiation performance of the internal device. For this reason, the control panel can not be formed as a complete sealing structure, and hence the influence of the atmosphere outside the control panel needs to be allowed to a certain degree.
In order to solve the above-described problems, for example, a technique of cooling an electronic device disclosed in JP 06-119083 A or a technique of protecting an electronic device by monitoring and controlling a temperature or a humidity inside a control panel disclosed in JP 09-138044 A may be used. If this technique is used, the electronic devices can be protected even when the atmosphere outside the control panel influences the inside of the control panel. Further, when the concentration of oil mist or dust as the external failure factor is further monitored and controlled without monitoring and controlling only the temperature or the humidity, the electronic devices are further protected.
However, the number of interfaces connectable to the peripheral devices of the machining tool is limited. For example, there are many peripheral devices to be connected, such as an automatic door opening/closing device, a machining tool interior lamp, and a cutting liquid pump, in addition to the device for protecting the electronic devices. For that reason, if there are many external failure factors to be monitored and controlled, a problem arises in that the number of empty interfaces for a controller or a necessary sensor is not enough. Further, there is a concern that the external failure factors may intrude into the control panel or influence the inside of the control panel even while the machining tool is not operated. However, it is not possible to protect the electronic devices from the intrusion and the influence of the external failure factors while the machining tool is turned on. As a countermeasure for this problem, a method of controlling the atmosphere by a control system independent from the machining tool can be considered as disclosed in, for example, JP 2002-103102 A. However, in this method, there is no need to worry about the problem in which the number of empty interfaces decreases even when the external failure factors to be monitored and controlled increase in number.
However, in the method of controlling the atmosphere by the control system independent from the machining tool, a problem arises in that the external failure factor to be controlled are handled as a black box. Here, the environment of the machining tool changes depending on the machining tool and the kind or the method of the external failure factor to be monitored and controlled after the machining tool is supplied needs to be adjusted and improved depending on the machining tool. For this reason, it is desirable to visualize the control method or the state of the measured external failure factor. Further, when the convenience in use for a user is considered, it is desirable to integrate a user interface with the machining tool instead of separating the user interface from the machining tool and the external failure factor control system.